1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of chemical analysis. More particularly, it concerns tag reagents for sensitive, high throughput detection and analysis of target molecules.
2. Description of the Related Art
Chemical labels, otherwise known as tags or signal groups, are widely used in chemical analysis. Among the types of molecules used are radioactive atoms, fluorescent reagents, luminescent reagents, metal-containing compounds, electron-absorbing substances and light absorbing compounds. A number of different types of molecules have been used as tags that can be differentiated under mass spectrometry. Chemical signal groups can be combined with reactivity groups so that they might be covalently attached to the target, the substance being detected.
However, current detection probes do not adequately allow highly multiplex detection and analysis of molecules. Microarrays can analyze the expression profiles of thousands of genes, but researchers can typically handle only one or two samples on a single microarray chip or slide because their fluorescent or luminescent detection systems have very limited multiplex capability. In addition to the added costs caused by the necessary use of multiple chips or slides, the limited analytical capacity of existing methods makes it difficult to replicate microarray experiments and/or compare data among samples. Moreover, while many other applications and assays have been developed using microplate formats, the use of current multiplex methods and devices limit the number of the samples that can be used in each well. Using current methods and devices of multiplex analysis of molecules requires multiple wells and/or plates for higher throughput and reproducible data.